12. The vine has dried up,the fig tree has withered;The pomegranate, even the date palm and the apple—every tree in the field has dried up.Joy itself has dried upamong the people.
13. Gird yourselves and lament, you priests!wail, ministers of the altar!Come, spend the night in sackcloth,ministers of my God!For the grain offering and the libationare withheld from the house of your God.
14. Proclaim a holy fast!Call an assembly!Gather the elders,all who dwell in the land,To the house of the Lord, your God,and cry out to the Lord!
15. O! The day!For near is the day of the Lord,like destruction from the Almighty it is coming!
16. Before our very eyeshas not food been cut off?And from the house of our God,joy and gladness?
17. The seed lies shriveled beneath clods of dirt;the storehouses are emptied.The granaries are broken down,for the grain is dried up.
18. How the animals groan!The herds of cattle are bewildered!Because they have no pasture,even the flocks of sheep are starving.